SynScan Pro vs PINE Motion
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SynScan Pro
Control motorized telescope mounts for celestial observation and astrophotography. Features include precise slewing, alignment, GOTO, and tracking of stars, planets, and deep-sky objects. Supports advanced functions like polar alignment and camera triggering.
- Control telescope mount (slew, align, GOTO, track)
- Point and Track celestial objects
- Gamepad navigation support
- Catalog of celestial objects
- Third-party app integration (ASCOM, SkySafari)
- Polar alignment (with or without polar scope)
- Camera shutter release control
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Use the SynScan app to control Sky-Watcher telescope mounts via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth LE. Mounts without built-in Wi-Fi can be supported via a SynScan Wi-Fi adapter. This is the Pro version of the SynScan app and contains features suited for expert users using equatorial mounts. Features - Control telescope mount to slew, align, GOTO and track. - Point And Track: track celestial objects (including the Sun and planets) without aligning. - Support gamepad navigation. - Browse a catalog of stars, comets, and deep sky objects. Or, save your own objects. - Provide access to mount for use by third-party apps, including ASCOM clients, SkySafari, Luminos, Stellarium Mobile Plus, Stellarium Desktop or customer-developed apps. Also set up mount alignment for Luminos, Skysafari. - Support access to the mount and the SynScan app from any platform that supports TCP/UDP connections. - Provide emulator mount for testing and practicing. - Track fast-moving earth satellites by working with the PreviSat app on Windows PC or the Lumios app on iOS devices. - Perform polar alignment with or without a polar scope. - Control shutter release (SNAP) port to trigger an attached camera. (Requires mount with SNAP port and adapter cable that matches camera.) - Use ASCOM to perform autoguiding on mounts that do not have autoguider (ST-4) port. - Other mount controls: auto home, PPEC, park.
PINE Motion
Control a universal motion device for cameras and other equipment. Enables advanced photographic and videographic techniques like time-lapses, panoramas, and 360-degree captures.
- Remote device control
- Time-Lapse
- Macro photography
- Video recording
- Giga-Pixel Panoramas
- 360-degree imaging
- Astro tracking
- Turntable control
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PINE is a compact and universal device that can be connected to a variety of different camera slider rails, pan & tilt heads, turntables and more, which are driven by stepper motors. It is THE tool for photographers and videographers who want to do motion controlled applications. Supported application modes include: * Time-Lapse * Macro * Video Recording * Giga-Pixel Panoramas * 360-degree Images & 360-degree Time-Lapse * Astro Tracking * Turntable * 3D-Scan
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: PINE Motion at 5.0 against SynScan Pro's 2.6. PINE Motion also leads on monetization model (free vs paid) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). SynScan Pro's advantage is ratings volume (51 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
PINE Motion holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SynScan Pro has 51 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
SynScan Pro ships an update every 2 months, PINE Motion every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on July 4, 2026 and July 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SynScan Pro | PINE Motion |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.6 (51 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 21.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 51 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Astropower Technology Co. Ltd. | Black Forest Motion |
Customer experience
SynScan Pro
PINE Motion
In-app purchases
SynScan Pro
No in-app purchases
PINE Motion
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SynScan Pro free?
Is PINE Motion free?
Which has better reviews, SynScan Pro or PINE Motion?
Do SynScan Pro or PINE Motion have ads?
Which is updated more often, SynScan Pro or PINE Motion?
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